Postgame: Chicago

Sunday

May 25, 2014 at 12:01 AMMay 25, 2014 at 3:28 AM

Some unfortunate mental math helped to make sure the Crew would be without its top playmaker next weekend at Toronto FC.

Crew designated player Federico Higuain earned a yellow card for stepping in front of a Chicago free kick in an eventual 2-0 win. Higuain entered the game one yellow shy of a one-game suspension for accumulation, but afterward said he thought he still had another to give.

Some unfortunate mental math helped to make sure the Crew would be without its top playmaker next weekend at Toronto FC.

Crew designated player Federico Higuain earned a yellow card for stepping in front of a Chicago free kick in an eventual 2-0 win. Higuain entered the game one yellow shy of a one-game suspension for accumulation, but afterward said he thought he still had another to give.

"I'm not happy – I thought I had one (fewer) yellow card," Higuain said through an interpreter. "It was an error of mine, but I believe in my teammates. I have to rely on them to play at their top level for us to win."

Higuain's impact has been pronounced since he arrived for the Crew in the summer of 2012, but it has been especially present recently. Higuain has scored or assisted on the Crew's last five goals and 11 of the 16 scored so far this season.

Crew coach Gregg Berhalter has cited homegrown player Ben Speas as Higuain's top backup this season, and Speas made his season debut in the game-day lineup but is yet to see any playing time. After the win, Berhalter held off on naming a candidate to fill Higuain's spot in the lineup.

"You don't replace Federico," he said. "Simple as that. That's how it goes. We get someone on the field that can play their game. We're not going to ask someone to come in and be Federico. That would be foolish of us. We're going to ask someone to come in and play to the best of their ability. I'm confident we'll be able to get that out of the person."

Daniel Paladini could also be a candidate to replace Higuain. Berhalter said he did not disagree with the yellow Higuain was shown but said he is looking for greater consistency.

"He blocked the free kick," he said. "I would say that I haven't seen that always called and I think it's always a yellow. If you stand in front of a free kick a yard away and block it, it should be a yellow and I haven't always necessarily seen that all year."

ChangesBerhalter made several lineup changes against the Fire. Defender Eric Gehrig and midfielder Ethan Finlay made their first starts of the year, Hector Jimenez made his first start at right back and defenders Tyson Wahl and Chad Barson both made their second starts of the year.

Jimenez bumped Josh Williams from the lineup after he had started all 11 games at right back this season.

"It wasn't about Josh's performance," Berhalter said. "It was about we were playing at home and we wanted a more attacking emphasis in this game and with Hector we felt that we could get that. Obviously he's an attacking player and to put him at right back we thought he could really get forward and put pressure on the other team and he did that with a couple great balls and got into the attack nicely."

Williams was the last player to leave Friday's training session, remaining on the field to work on his crossing.

Finlay scored the Crew's first goal, while Gehrig and Wahl helped the Crew earn its second shutout of the year (and first since the season opener) against a team that had not been blanked this season.

"Obviously we had a good week this week in training," Gehrig said. "(Assistant coach) Josh Wolff had some good clips set out for us in film. This is a group that is grinders. We might not be the starters, but we're going to go the extra mile for each other and we're going ot cover for each other and I think tonight there was a lot of backup and a lot of cover and we snuffed out all their chances."

Said Berhalter, "Chicago hasn't been shut out yet this season, so I think that speaks for itself. The guys did it with determination, guys like Eric Gehrig, Tyson (Wahl), Hector, Chad. Chad Barson I thought was excellent as well with his defensive responsibilities and Steve Clark also. Very secure today on crosses. Didn't give any rebounds. That's what you want from a goalkeeper and I thought he was excellent today. I think these guys really responded. You could see that some of the guys that played last week and now this week, they're getting a rhythm and you can see they're a lot more comfortable with what's going on.

ForwardAfter Thursday's training session at Crew Stadium, Berhalter said he is still trying to juggle forwards Jairo Arrieta and Dominic Oduro to get them both in the best form possible.

Tonight, Arrieta started and found the net for his third goal of the season while Oduro came on as a substitute and had several chances but came up empty. Berhalter praised both players.

"When you see (Jairo's) work rate and you see how he pestered their center defenders and obviously the goal and his movement, that's the Jairo that we know is there," he said. "We said last week (in a 3-3 tie at Portland) was one of his better performances of the year. He didn't score and it was unfortunate and he needed this so badly for himself. Not for us, because we thought he played well, but for himself he needed it. In my eyes it was great that he got it and we're extremely happy for him. A guy that works that hard deserves that."

Oduro is yet to score this season after scoring a career-high 13 goals last year.

"Dom lacks a little rhythm, but when you see how he wants to take the chances and how he wants to get the goal and how he's aggressive, that's a real positive in my eyes," Berhalter said. "He's another guy that we really want it to get there for him and we really want him to be active and get his chances and tonight we're satisfied because he got his chances and we know the goals will come with Dom. It's proven. He's a proven goal scorer."